MxMIndia

Tag: Salman Khan

  • Mahesh Shetty, Head of Network Sales at Viacom18, in conversation with Pradyuman Maheshwari

    Achche Din for Viacom18’s Bigg Boss for Revenues

     

    By Pradyuman Maheshwari

     

    They don’t make too many of them in this world. Especially in the cruel world of television network sales. But then there’s Mahesh Shetty, Head, Network Sales at Viacom18. Cool, candid and absolutely honest.

     

    In fact given the interviews I have done in the past, I thought it would be good to ask him some tough questions. But, then, he was so frank in his response – that Chinese electronics player Vivo backed out of the sponsorship of the network’s marquee property, Bigg Boss, that one thought it’s good to go easy.

     

    Now as Colors gets set for the 14th edition of the reality show, Shetty spoke with MxMIndia on a variety of issues. The sponsorship by Mobile Player League, Salman Khan, other shows on Colors and revenues for the network as a whole.

     

    Sit back. Watch. Enjoy. Like.

     

     

  • Bigg Boss 2020 is scheduled to premiere soon on Colors and Voot Select

    Mobile Premier League is Presenting Sponsor for Bigg Boss 2020

    By A Correspondent

     

    Mobile Premier League will be sponsor of Bigg Boss 2020, Season 14 of the reality show. Hosted by Salman Khan, for the new season, Colors has got leading e-sports and mobile gaming platform Mobile Premier League (MPL) as the presenting sponsor. According to industry sources, Bigg Boss 2020 is scheduled to premiere on Colors and Voot Select early next month.

     

    Speaking about the partnership, Mahesh Shetty, Head, Network Sales, Viacom18, said: “Bigg Boss is the biggest reality show in the entertainment space, and it appeals to demographics across geographies. Given its strong fanbase makes it one of the sought-after marketing platform for sponsors. Over the years, several brands have come forward to explore innovative customisations and partnerships to deliver their business ambitions. Mobile Premier League (MPL) is one of India’s leading esports and mobile gaming platforms that provide unparalleled gaming experience to the users and we are glad to welcome them as the presenting sponsor for the new season of Bigg Boss.”

     

    Talking about the collaboration, Abhishek Madhavan, VP, Growth and Marketing, Mobile Premier League (MPL) added: “Bigg Boss is one of the most watched reality shows in India and easily the most popular and most talked-about reality TV show across the country. With a superstar like Salman Khan hosting it, every season is eagerly awaited by millions and promises something new. With MPL expanding into areas like entertainment via its live-streaming and a bunch of video-first features, Bigg Boss was the most obvious choice for us to associate with. We eagerly look forward to this season and hope to cement MPL’s position as a household name through the partnership.”

     

    Elaborating on the partnership, Navin Khemka, CEO, India & South Asia from Mediacom said: “We are delighted with this partnership of MPL and Bigg Boss. This is one show that has shown consistent performance over the years. We are confident that we will be able to leverage a strong association with the loyal Bigg Boss audience through some innovative associations that we have in store for our exponentially increasing gaming audience. India loves to play and this time it’s going to be inside the Bigg Boss house with MPL.”

     

     

  • As people are gearing up to embrace the new normal, traditional greetings like Salaam/Namaste have never been more relevant, notes PespsiCo India

    Salaam, Namaste with Pepsi & Salman

    By A Correspondent

     

    In an endeavour to make these contactless Indian greeting a part of the pop culture, Pepsi, along with brand ambassador and Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, have introduced a video campaign aims at inspiring the world that greeting each other with Salaam/Namaste is a perfect way to ensure social distancing and yet maintain connections responsibly.

     

    Said an unnamed PepsiCo India spokesperson: “Existing habits and beliefs have never been challenged as much as they are being today. Social distancing will take centerstage as people step out of their homes once again. Public Pepsi® as a responsible brand, aims to champion the cause of contactless greetings by encouraging people to use our old age traditional ways of greetings with Salaam/Namaste.”

     

     

  • The commercial has been directed by Nitesh Tiwari of Dangal and Chhichhore fame and choreographed by Mudassar Khan who has earned a name for his choreography style in many Salman starrer films like Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard etc

    Now Salman Khan is brand ambassador for Navratna oil

    By A Correspondent

     

    Navratna Oil, from the house of Emami Limited, has kicked off its new season with actor Salman Khan.

     

    Speaking on this occasion, Harsha V. Agarwal, Director, Emami Limited, said: “We are very happy to have India’s evergreen hearthrob Salman Khan on board for our brand Navratna.  We found Salman’s mass appeal and fan base to be a perfect match for Navratna’s deep connect with its consumers. We are confident that our new communication with its peppy presentation featuring the superstar will help the brand to scale up its mass appeal quotient further.”

     

    The commercial has been directed by Nitesh Tiwari of Dangal and Chhichhore fame and choreographed by Mudassar Khan who has earned a name for his choreography style in many Salman starrer films like Dabangg, Ready, Bodyguard etc.

     

     

  • The TVC weaves in the brand’s key message Keep Chillin, Keep Flippin

    Salman Khan takes ‘Keep Chillin’ message further for Bahamas

    By A Correspondent

     

    Footwear brand Bahamas has launched its latest campaign featuring Salman Khan. The TVC weaves in the brand’s key message ‘Keep Chillin, Keep Flippin’.

     

    Expressing his thoughts on the new launch and the campaign, Gaurav Dua, Executive Director (Sales & Marketing), Relaxo Footwears Limited said: “Salman Khan, who has been the face of the brand for a while now, perfectly fits in as he cuts across all age groups especially the youth and there’s no one better than him to spread this message in a super quirky and most efficient way. Youngsters today are opting for causal looks and this trend is driving the growth of such market. Our offering is designed for the free-spirited, the easy-going, the live-for-today chillers and to keep celebrating each moment of life. The new TVC brings in energy into audience, motivating them to take a break from their digital life and rededicate themselves to exploring new experiences in real life.”

     

     

  • This is the first and the only smartphone brand that Salman Khan has collaborated with

    Realme appoints Salman as brand ambassador

    By A Correspondent

     

    Device-maker Realme has announced Salman Khan as its brand ambassador, endorsing its upcoming Realme 6 and Realme 6 Pro series.

     

    Commenting on the partnership, Madhav Sheth, Vice President of Realme and CEO of Realme India, said: “What makes Salman Khan the best choice for us it that he enjoys a massive appeal across various regions and demographic profiles of India. That brings immense value to us as one of the unique selling propositions of our brand lies in making cutting edge technology, fun, stylish, quality-driven products within everyone’s reach and across all price segments. Having Salman Khan on board with a mammoth fan following will help us reach and tap into that target audience of ours.”

     

     

  • All new anthem Swag Se Solo features Bollywood icon, Salman Khan

    Salman Khan takes the swag route for Pepsi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Pepsi is set to celebrate the week of love with a twist. It has launched ‘Swag se solo’, its new anthem featuring brand ambassador, Salman Khan.

     

    Speaking on the launch the anthem, a PepsiCo India spokesperson said: “Pepsi’s swag movement continues in 2020 with the launch of the Swag Solo anthem. Given the popularity that we witnessed with our last anthem, we felt music was the best way to engage with the nation. Through this single, we are excited to bring a unique twist to what is traditionally seen as a week of celebrating couples. We want to rejoice the youth of today with music and urge all those who are single to embrace their relationship status with self-confidence, unshakeable self-belief and irrefutable swag. With an icon such as Salman Khan grooving to the tunes, we are confident that the whole country will be dancing to the beats of the anthem.”

     

     

  • The year 2020 will see brand Pepsi create a scale 360-degree campaign with the actor

    Salman Khan to now endorse Pepsi

    By A Correspondent

     

    Pepsi India has announced its collaboration with Bollywood actor Salman Khan.

     

    Speaking about the association, a PepsiCo India Spokesperson said: “We are excited to announce Pepsi’s collaboration with Bollywood superstar Salman Khan. Over the last year, swag has been the underlying message throughout Pepsi’s campaigns, celebrating the innate self-belief of the Indian consumer today. In 2020, we look forward to building the brand’s ‘Har Ghoont Mein Swag’ proposition with Salman in 2020.”

     

    The year 2020 will see brand Pepsi create a 360-degree campaign that will reflect the self-confidence of today’s youth with the actor, notes a communique.

     

  • The new TVC is live on Somanys digital platforms

    Salman Khan endorses latest brand message for Somany Ceramics

    By A Correspondent

     

    Somany Ceramics has launched its new campaign with the tagline  Zameen se Judey’. The TVC is live on Somany’s digital platforms and scheduled to go on air in the coming week. Somanys new campaign with Salman Khan signifies its humble and rooted approach.

     

    Commenting on the film, Abhishek Somany, MD, Somany Ceramics Ltd said: “Somany has carved a niche for itself as a relevant and trusted company today with its dynamic capability to evolve with changing décor aesthetics over the years. It understands its consumers, and in return, its patrons trust Somany to offer the best tiles, sanitaryware & bath fittings products in India. Both Somany Ceramics and Salman Khan have one thing in common that the TVC has wonderfully captured, the fact that both have established themselves as an unchallenged leader in their respective Industry and still remain grounded, which is the thought behind Zameen se Judey. Somany has an ever growing consumer base while Salman Khan is a unanimously loved and respected superstar whose body of work always cuts across with the audience.”

     

     

  • The brand will be launching an advertising campaign with Salman shortly

    Salman Khan appointed brand ambassador of Somany Ceramics

    By A Correspondent

     

    Somany Ceramics has announced its association with Salman Khan as its brand ambassador. The company is on an aggressive expansion mode and will be launching a brand advertising campaign with the actor shortly.

     

    Commenting on the new association, Abhishek Somany, MD, Somany Ceramics said: “Somany has carved a niche for itself as a relevant and trusted company today with its dynamic capability to evolve with changing décor aesthetics over the years. It understands its consumers, and in return, its patrons trust Somany to offer the best tiles, sanitaryware and bath fittings products in India. Both Somany Ceramics and Salman Khan have one thing in common, the fact that both have established themselves as an unchallenged leader in their respective Industry. Somany has an ever-growing consumer base while Salman is a unanimously loved and respected superstar whose body of work always cuts across with the audience. With Salman’s mass appeal which cuts across different strata’s of the society, our endeavor is to reach out and establish ourselves with the masses. We are honored to have him as the face of Somany Ceramics.”

     

     

  • The bestselling cola dumped its creative agency of 24 years… but can this help gain back its thunder, wonders Prabhakar Mundkur

    Is Thums Up losing its Thunder?

     

    By Prabhakar Mundkur

     

    When Coca-Cola launched Thums Up Charged with great fanfare two years ago, they might have consciously ignored what was happening to the cola market in general.  The signs of decline in colas has been a global phenomenon for some time now. An increasingly health conscious population, especially amongst the millennials, has meant that colas in general might not be the preferred beverage. Consumers are increasingly moving to juices and non-cola beverages and colas are no longer as ‘cool’ as they were even a decade ago.  The logic of therefore launching a extra fizzy Thums up Charged defied the logic of a cola market already under pressure. If fizz was unhealthy then extra fizz was likely to be even more unhealthy!

     

    The government has also held the health banner to cola products by classifying them as ‘sin products’ and have taxed them heavily.  As with most other harmful products like tobacco, colas attract 28% GST and a 12% cess or ‘sin’ tax. It is unlikely that colas could have carried this new burden in addition to a shift in consumer attitudes to more healthy beverages.

     

    So the prediction of $1 billion revenue announced with the launch of Thums Up Charged may have been a little premature.  The company has not yet announced if it met that target.

     

    So, what happens when brands don’t do as well as they are expected to? Typically, they change agencies. After all advertising agencies are the easiest scapegoats for CMOs when they have to answer to their superiors.

     

    What then might have taken the Thunder out of Thums Up?  Toofani Thanda or Taste the Thunder which evolved to Main Hoon Toofani,  Live the Thunder and Aaj Kuch toofani karten hain was a classic positioning that the brand has held for years and made it the leader in the market for the last few decades since it was first acquired by Coca Cola in 1993. Thanda in Hindi has been the generic label for all colas.

     

    The Thums Up Masculinity Model

    The earlier masculinity model projected by Thums Up represented pure machoism with Salman Khan. There was something raw about it.  In this, model men were expected to be muscular, drink a few gallons of alcohol without getting intoxicated and strong enough to be heavy smokers. Ian Fleming’s James Bond in his books represented this kind of raw masculinity. Typically, men projected toughness and independence and seemed invulnerable.  Brands and marketers projected this masculinity by finding appropriate role models and celebrities and for Thums Up it was Salman Khan. For other brands like Cinthol in the old days, it was Vinod Khanna that represented this kind of masculinity.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCqG3FTdEMw

     

    When Thums Up made the change from Salman Khan to Ranveer Singh, they made a conscious effort to change the original masculinity code of Thums Up.  The launch of Ranveer Singh with Main Hoon Toofani theme, had Ranveer in a feat where he helped schoolchildren out of a bus that was about to fall in to a gorge.  Heroic and a social do-gooder yes, but was it masculine enough? Probably not.  Earlier commercials for Thums Up had shown Salman go to any lengths to get his bottle of Thums Up and in the process overcome several hurdles.  In comparison the new Ranveer film did not have the same purpose. Also, variant advertising is not easy. How do you differentiate variants adequately in advertising so that the classic variant is different from the new variant?  Did the Ranveer commercial achieve this distinction of differentiating Thums Up Charged adequately from the classic Thums Up? I am not sure.  It was not clear what the emotional benefit the extra fizz resulted in for the Ranveer commercial.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgEVNWdfIEo

     

    Cutting to the latest commercial in November 2018 for Thums Up lacked both a theme and any substance.  Ranveer Singh seemed to be running away from thugs and finally escapes them with a swig of Thums Up before he jumps into some rapids.   Heroic again but not particularly masculine.

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPjy_6pX9wA

     

    Contrast all this advertising with the Salman Khan advertising of yore.  Maybe it was time to bring the real Toofani back to Thums Up. Which might explain the change of agencies from Burnett to Lowe.

     

     

  • Announces national campaign featuring Salman Khan and first regional campaign with Jr. NTR in South

    Appy Fizz asks consumers to #RiseUp with new summer campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Parle Agro announced the launch of a new summer campaign for Appy Fizz with hyperlocal marketing strategy with various initiatives to further connect with the consumers across India.

     

    Commenting on the announcement, Nadia Chauhan, Joint MD and CMO, Parle Agro said: “Appy Fizz, a Rs 740 core brand, has grown by 70 per cent in last year, witnessing this phenomenal acceptance from consumers has fueled our desire to chalk an aggressive marketing strategy and build this category to Rs. 4,000 crore. Both Salman Khan and Jr NTR have a huge fan base that will help us connect with our consumers and actualize this feat.”

     

    Conceptualised by Parle Agro’s creative partner, Sagmesiter & Walsh, the 360-degree campaign will speak out to the young consumers, encouraging them to unleash their true potential and #RiseUp while achieving their goals in life.

     

    Added Jessica Walsh, Partner at Sagmeister & Walsh: “For Appy Fizz, we have always maintained the intriguing communication strategy, connecting with consumers across the country. Both the brand ambassadors have good screen presence and seamlessly blends with Appy Fizz’s bold and edgy persona.”